# 3 Person Wine Review - Columbia Crest H3 Merlot



## Oldmso54 (Jul 31, 2010)

Josh (joshbhs04), Brian (Desertlifter), and I all decided to do a wine review. We collectively decided on this particular wine for our first three person review. *Columbia Crest H3 (Horse Haven Hills) Merlot 2009
*
Straight from the wording on the bottle_: "Washington States famed Horse Haven Hills, named for the wild horses that once roamed this area, have been home to the Columbia Crest winery for over two decades. Or winemaker blends innovation and tradition to capture this unique basalt and bedrock terrior creating wines that highlight the intensity of these grapes. This medium bodied merlot delivers aromas of spice and blackberry, with a perfect balance of earth, dusty cocoa and ripe cherry flavors, and a lingering rich velvety finish."
_
So let's see what this wine delivers! My wife and I decanted about 2/3 of the bottle and let it rest for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. The wine was stored in our newly purchased 100 bottle wine cellar/cooler at around 57 degrees give or take.

Glasses were poured through our homemade aerator (NOT SHOWN FOR GOOD REASON -LOL!) before tasting. Initial swirl of the glass shows that the wine appears to have good legs and some depth. The color is deep, dark and rich looking. You certainly can't see through the wine. Smelling the wine reveals a lot of earthiness and some type of fruitiness. I detected cherry&#8230; my wife wasn't so sure. The first sips show a dry wine with hints of cocoa and blackberry. There is no aftertaste, no heavy tannins, but definitely an earthiness and cocoa flavor. This is an easy wine to drink right off the bat.

The finish is long and savory. The wine continues to coat the glass on each sip indicating a depth and body to the wine. As we progress through the glass the blackberry and cocoa consistently show themselves. While easy to drink we both feel like this wine would pair fantastically with a great steak or a hearty red sauce Italian dish. The earthiness gives the wine a complexity without overshadowing the berry and cocoa. We are really enjoying this as each sip brings more of each component forward.

On to our second glass and this wine just does not let up! Easy to drink on its own but also calling to be paired with a bold meal! My palate is lightly but noticeably coated with a wonderful silky texture. The fruits and cocoa have given way to the earthiness and depth of the wine.

All in all both my wife and I are very impressed by this wine. We are looking forward to pairing it with an appropriate meal and also looking forward to sampling the Cabernet Sauvignon from this winery. This is a definite "two thumbs up" from us. And at $12.99 a bottle I would say it was well worth the price. Paired appropriately I don't think you could go wrong serving this and I suspect you might even get a boatload of compliments and interest!










Enjoy, Shawn & Susan


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## joshbhs04 (May 30, 2011)

OK, my review just consists of some notes as I am no author like shawn hahah. Unfortunately my wife was feeling under the weather so her input was not provided. So here it is!









Columbia Crest H3 Merlot
Vintage- 2009
Horse Heaven Hills region

Color- dark ruby, can barely see through the wine even when backlit.


















Aroma- Inviting, definitely pick up black cherry or other dark berries- 4










First sip- very faint berry. Maybe black cherry or a dark type berry. Very light and clean aftertaste. Almost a complete lack of tannins.
Continued- the next few sips start to show a lot of tobacco flavor which is not what I expected. The berry is still present but the tobacco is definitely overpowering. As I finish the first glass the flavors of dark berries and tobacco remain although the tobacco has subsided some and pairing much better with the berry. As I continued on with more glasses of the Merlot I noticed the tobacco fading away and the berry turn to a cherry flavor. Now I think this may happen due to more time in the decanter as the night went on. Or my tastebuds where just getting fried from the drinking and picking up less.

Intensity- I would not consider this a very intense wine. A good smooth Merlot that can be enjoyed with or without pairing.

Finish- A very long finish with every sip, almost leaves your tongue coated for over 1 Min. (4)

Overall I would consider this a good Merlot especially for the $10.00 price tag at total wine out here in Cali. If I wasn't into drinking different wines and had more storage I would consider buying a bottle or two to keep on hand for when we have visitors over that enjoy a good smooth red.


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## joshbhs04 (May 30, 2011)

And unfortunately photobucket did not save my rotating of pics. Sorry guys


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## Oldmso54 (Jul 31, 2010)

You know after seeing Josh's review and re thinking my wifes comments - she also detected a lot of "smokiness", as she called it, to the wine. I would equate her "smokiness" comment to Josh's "tobacco" comment. Interesting how they both detected the flavor but described it differently. Looking forward to seeing Brian's review but this has been lots of fun so far.


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## piperdown (Jul 19, 2009)

The only thing that comes to mind is....Shawn's a lush....lol

Nice review on the Merlot! My wife and I have been enjoying a Hungarian red wine called "Bulls Blood". She remembered it from her college days backpacking across Europe. Is quite nice and not overly expensive.


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## Desertlifter (Feb 22, 2011)

And now it's my turn!

I was looking forward to this not only for the camaraderie of the synchronous review but for an excuse to try this wine out. I've been on a bit of an Italian/Spanish wine collecting binge lately so I've been drinking different varietals than your typical merlot. I'm also usually impressed with the quality and consistency of Columbia Crest's work, particularly for their price point. The boutique wine industry here has been detrimental in that it has radically inflated prices for what pass for "reserve" wines.

Here we go - 
I corked the bottle to find a YOUNG looking cork with virtually no incursion. I suspect that this is due its storage as an '09 should have something in the way of absorption. The bottle was very obviously stored upright. No worry about taint, at least.









After leaving the wine to breathe for a bit I gave myself a conservative pour and checked the nose. Black pepper, raspberry, and what I call "winery smell" were there in lighter quantities. Winery smell is a combination of earthy-must smells and a light oaken/smoky note that only comes from being barrel-aged in oak, which this wine was. If you've ever been in a winery you will know what I am talking about. Overall the nose is light and un-complex, which is in keeping with the varietal. I've whined (hah!) before about Washington wineries trying to "cab-ify" everything they make, and it is nice to see producers paying more attention to this. The blend for H3 merlot is listed as 96% merlot, 3% cabernet-sauvignon, and 1% malbec. Excellent.









Even as a young wine - as my co-horts mentioned - it lacks overpowering tannins. This allows the more delicate fruitiness of the merlot grape to move forward, which it does on the palate. As the wine breathes the pepperiness abates somewhat and one is left with a better view of the fruit and light oakiness. The finish is long, although not through overt acidity - the fruit stands to the fore. As I continued through the sample I noted that the wine lacks significant legs, once again in keeping with the varietal. Don't know how much I would bother cellaring this wine for that reason. It is ready now, unless one is more of the French "it's not ready till it tastes like raisins and anise" school of thought.

This makes H3 a great wine to drink and enjoy on its own. I like reds like these - proper pinot noirs are similar - because they pair with more subtle dishes that normally scream for whites. Instead of receiving a beat-down that a complex cabernet delivers, this merlot is a team player and would pair well with less acidic/complex fruits and dishes. Think pears and almonds with fresh mint and chevre on crackers.

Great - now I'm hungry.

Respectfully submitted,
Desertlifter


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## joshbhs04 (May 30, 2011)

Nice reviews guys! This was a good time. Ill be looking into the cab sometime this week. We should keep this going past the next one!


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## Oldmso54 (Jul 31, 2010)

piperdown said:


> *The only thing that comes to mind is....Shawn's a lush....lol*
> 
> Nice review on the Merlot! My wife and I have been enjoying a Hungarian red wine called "Bulls Blood". She remembered it from her college days backpacking across Europe. Is quite nice and not overly expensive.


That could possibly be true Eric ???:new_all_coholic:



joshbhs04 said:


> Nice reviews guys! This was a good time. Ill be looking into the cab sometime this week. We should keep this going past the next one!


I'm all for it - just wish more than us 3 reviewers and 1 viewer tuned in ?? :noidea:


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## hoosiers2006 (Nov 23, 2010)

Nicely done guys.


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